Bankstown’s West Terrace parking and senior citizen building to be demolished under state park proposal
A multistorey free carpark and a senior citizens building are on the chopping block following proposed state plans to deliver a new park, leaving a southwest Sydney council “blindsided”.
NSW
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Plans to forge ahead with a new park in the heart of Bankstown CBD will see 256 free parking spots wiped and a senior citizens building razed to the ground.
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) has pushed ahead with plans to redevelop 5-7 West Terrace, Bankstown despite vehement council objection, with council accusing the department of failing to engage in adequate consultation.
The plans were announced earlier this year as part of a $228.2m federal commitment to deliver five public green spaces within select Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Precincts – including Bankstown.
However according to council, the land was rezoned by the department in November from B4 Mixed Use to RE1 Public Recreation without council consultation.
It is understood the department aims to deliver the new park by mid 2026, with demolition works to commence later this year.
However at Tuesday’s council meeting, Canterbury-Bankstown Council chief executive officer Matthew Stewart said the department had provided “no clarity” to council regarding project timelines, acquisition or land valuation.
“We’ve not been able to get much clarity at all,” he said. “I get the feeling we’re not on the same page. I certainly haven’t been able to get any indication of an actual (price) figure.”
On July 16 last year, NSW DPHI exhibited plans to roll out new parks in selected TOD precincts.
None of the exhibited documents indicated redevelopment of West Terrace, which had been subject to long-term council development plans since 2008.
In a letter to Planning Minister Paul Scully last year, city Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said council had been “blindsided” by the proposal.
“Council staff were blindsided by this proposal, and to date no details have been provided as to why this site was prioritised over any other potential open space option,” he wrote.
The department has since lodged further plans to acquire the site and undertake demolition works with no indication whether the parking spaces would be replaced.
On Tuesday, Independent councillor Barbara Coorey made explosive comments saying “this is going to be war with the Department of Planning”.
“It’s going to be the most expensive park ever in local government history,” Ms Coorey said.
She said several local venues relied heavily on the multistorey carpark and would be significantly impacted by its closure.
“If this department thinks that we’re going to sit back and watch them come in, do testing, forcibly acquire this land, and then demolish it while these venues remain open and then they go under – they’ve got another thing coming,” she said.
“Council did not want this rezoned. We were the only council to go beyond the TODs and the way we have been treated – it’s an outrage.”
As a B4 Mixed Use zone, the site is estimated to have a value of about $150m at minimum, but as a RE1 Public Recreation space, the valuation is lower.
Since 2008, council has aspirational long-term plans to redevelop the area to deliver a new a new community centre at Griffith Park replacing the ageing seniors citizen facility and to expand the Marion St carpark to accommodate the loss of West Terrace carpark.
However according to the tabled report, the new plans have “significantly accelerated” the need for the expanded carpark despite council having “(no) funding strategy in place to provide (over $50M) to construct a new car park”.
A NSW DPHI spokesperson said: “Canterbury-Bankstown Council has designated this area of land to be rezoned as public space in its 2021 Master Plan.”
“The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure engaged with Council throughout the site selection process, which was confirmed in April 2025.
“The Department will continue to closely engage with Council throughout the design process.”
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